We are finally (finally!) posting the Song Ha-yoon (송하윤) interview that was meant for like two weeks ago. I also still need to post parts II and parts III of the Ahn Jae-hong interview. Can you tell that we’re behind? But the good news is that both the Ahn Jae-hong and Song Ha-yoon interviews are completed, I just need to re-read for typos and all that stuff and make sure the translations actually make sense.

This Song Ha-yoon interview is a three-part interview that we are going to break into three posts. We will post both the Song Ha-yoon and Ahn Jae-hong interviews salamander style (first one then the other). So expect the second part of the Ahn Jae-hong interview next, followed by part II of Song Ha-yoon interview and so forth.

This part of the interview is all about the character Song Ha-yoon played in My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol. I was laughing so hard at all the crazy sorts of things that happen to her. Seriously, this was the makjang of makjangs. Spoiler alert to everyone who hasn’t seen My Daughter, Geum Sa-wol and wants to. You definitely should not read this interview. Part I of the Song Ha-yoon interview is below. Enjoy.

FULL INTERVIEW – Part ISONG HA-YOON, OH-WOL WAS A PERSON WHO ROSE FROM DEATHSports Chosun | May 27, 2017 | Translated By Bah+DooOriginally written by Choi Bo-ran >

“다른 캐릭터 얘기도 있었지만, 새롭게 도전해 볼 수 있는 캐릭터라는 점에서 오월 역할로 출연을 결심했어요. 원래 20~30회차 사이에 죽는 역할이었지만요. 근데 생각보다 더 오래, 36회까지 나왔죠. 36회 사고를 당하는 장면이 있는데 과연 다시 나올수 있을지, 언제 나올지도 몰랐죠. 근데 김순옥 작가님한테 연락이 왔어요. ‘끝까지 같이 가기로 했어’라고 하시더라고요. 정말 기뻤죠.”
“I had offers for other characters, but I picked Oh-wol because it was a new challenge for me. She was supposed to die around 20-30 episodes in. But she kept living a lot longer than expected, until the 36th episode. After the accident on the 36th episode, I wasn’t sure she if she would be back or not. But then writer Kim Soon-ok called me and said, ‘We decided to carry you to the end of the drama.’ I was so happy”

보육원 시절 자신의 출생의 비밀을 숨기려고 문을 잠가버린 혜상 때문에 죽을 뻔한 오월은 만후 때문에 건물에서 추락해 기억을 잃는 등 고난을 겪었다. 이후에도 남편 임시로(최대철)에게 버림받고, 친부인 기황(안내상)의 목전에서 혜상에게 납치 당하고, 끝내 사고로 죽음을 맞는 등 사건사고가 끊이지 않았다.
While she was in the orphanage, she almost got killed because He-sang locked a door to conceal his birth secret, then she fell out of a building and lost her memory because of Man-hoo, then she was abandoned by her husband Lim Shi-ro (Choi Dae-chul), kidnapped by Hae-sang in front of her father Ki-hwang (Ahn Nae-sang), and she finally died from an accident.

“대본 받았을 때 그걸 송하윤으로서 보는게 아니라 오월이로서 보니까 담담하게 받아 들일 수 있었어요. 송하윤으로 보기 시작하면 물음표가 많아지고 납득하기 어려워 지니까요. 오월이로서 작품을 대하니까 받아들이기 힘든 건 없었어요. 그게 오월이의 인생인거니까요. 근데 오월이가 그렇게 힘들지만도 않았어요. 어떤 힘든 상황에 놓이면 소소한 행복을 찾기 마련이죠. 내가 할 수 있는 일도 있고, 아이들도 있고. 사월이도 찾고. 작은 행복들이 있었죠. 그렇지 않았으면 오월이 우울증 약이라도 복용해야 하지 않았을까요.”
“When I first read the script, I took it well because I looked at it not as Song Ha-yoon, but as Oh-wol. If I looked at the character as Song Ha-yoon, I would have more questions and I would not easily accept the situations. But, it was okay since I accepted the character as Oh-wol. That is Oh-wol’s life. However, Oh-wol’s life was not that bad. When you are facing a hard situation, people always start to look for trivial happiness. There is something I can do, kids are there as well. There was a little happiness looking for Sa-wol. Otherwise, she should have taken anti-depressant medications.”

파란만장한 주오월을 거침없이 소화해내면서 송하윤 또한 재조명 받았다. 송하윤은 복수극에서 돋보이는 캐릭터가 아님에도 불구, 기대 이상의 활약을 보여주며 ‘신스틸러’로 거듭났다. 오월은 갖은 풍파를 겪으면서도 착한 심성과 자신만의 신념을 잃지 않는 인물로, 송하윤의 순수한 마스크와 섬세한 감정 연기가 돋보였다. 특히 사고로 기억을 잃고 어린아이의 지능이 된 오월을 어색함 없이 소화해내며 호평을 얻었다.
Song Ha-yoon also shed new light because she acted the turbulent life of Ju Oh-wol so well. Even though Song Ha-yoon was not the lead character in the revenge drama, she exceeded everyone’s expectations and was reborn as a “Scene Stealer”. O-wol is a character that keeps her kind heart and belief despite all the hardships she went through. Her acting was especially impressive when Oh-wol lost her memory due to an accident and her intellect became that of a child.

“그냥 잘 해야겠다는 생각보다 ‘오월이로 열심히 살아야지’라고 생각했어요. 오월이가 많은 일을 겪었지만 저는 하나도 안 힘들었어요. 감정이 유해졌달까. 감정이라는 게 계속 쓰다보면 그 폭이 넓어지거든요. 오히려 감정이 끊이지 않고 쭉 가니까 몰입이 더 잘 됐어요. 전작 KBS2 ‘그래도 푸르른 날에’에서도 감정신이 많았기 때문에 거의 매일 울었어요. 생각해보면 일년 넘도록 눈이 퉁퉁 부어있었네요.”
“I thought ‘I will live life to the fullest as Oh-wol,’ rather than ‘I will work hard.’ Even though Oh-wol suffered a lot, I was just fine. I can say my emotions became more flexible. When you use your emotions a lot, they widen. Actually, it was easier to immerse myself in the role because the emotional line was continuous throughout the drama. In my last TV drama, KBS2 In Still Green Days, I cried almost every day because it also had a lot of emotional scenes. I think my eyes were swollen the entire year.”

송하윤은 촬영하는 내내 오월의 감정에 몰입해 있었다. 아이들과 얼굴만 봐도 애틋해서 눈물이 나고 남편 임시로에 버림받는 장면을 찍고 난 다음 흐르는 눈물을 멈추기 어려웠을 정도였다고 한다. 만후나 혜상과 대적하는 신보다 아이들이나 남편과 함께 할 때 더 힘들었다는 말에서 그녀가 진심을 다해 주오월로 살았음을 엿볼 수 있었다.
Song Ha-yoon was fully immersed in Oh-wol’s emotions while shooting. She teared up whenever she saw the kids and after shooting the scene where she was abandoned by her husband, Lim Shi-ro, she couldn’t stop crying. She said it was more difficult to act when she was with her children and her husband than when confronting Man-hoo or Hae-sang, which shows how much she became Oh-wol.

“아무래도 아이들이나 남편이랑 호흡할 때 감정적으로 더 힘들었던 것 같아요. 아무리 잘못해도 남편이라 그런지 바라보면 눈물이 나더라고요. 아이들과 있었던 일 생각도 나고, 시어머니 생각도 나고요. 그래서 오월이가 시로(최대철)하고 쉽게 못 헤어졌나 봐요. 남편이랑 헤어지는 장면 찍고 나서 눈물을 엄청 흘렸어요. 눈에서 여덟 줄기가 돼 나오더라고요. 아이들과도 매일 뽀뽀하고 진짜 ‘내 새끼다’ 생각하고 지냈는데, 나중엔 눈만 마주쳐도 눈물을 글썽이는 거예요.”
“I think it was emotionally harder to act with Oh-wol’s kids or husband. I was tearing up when I saw him, even though he made mistakes. It reminded me of memories with the kids and the mother-in-law. I think that is why Oh-wol couldn’t get divorced with Si-ro (Choi Dae-chul). I cried a lot after the separation scene with Oh-wol’s husband. I had 8 courses of tears from my eyes. I kissed the kids every day and accepted them as my own, then I was tearing up whenever I saw them.”

그렇게 깊게 몰입해 있었기 때문일까. 송하윤은 몇몇 장면에 대해서는 ‘어떻게 찍었는지도 모르겠다’라며 기억이 나지 않는다고 고백하기도 했다. 공사장에서 추락하고 납치 돼 교통사고를 당하는 등 유독 고생이 많았던 그녀였지만, 정작 힘들었다는 기억은 별로 없다고.
Because she was so immersed in her role, Song Ha-yoon confessed that she doesn’t even remember how she took the scenes. She suffered a lot on the drama, for example, she fell to the ground at a construction site, was kidnapped, and she was involved in a car accident, but she doesn’t have any memories of all the suffering.

특히 송하윤은 ‘금사월’ 속에서 악인들을 향한 거침없는 질타와 과감한 행동력으로 ‘사이다 여신’이라는 호응을 얻었다. 이에 대해 그는 “억척이 역할이라 그런 거 같다. 남편이랑 애기들 앞에서만 약했지. 다른 사람들하고는 항상 붙잡고 싸우는 캐릭터였다”라고 말하며 웃었다.
Song Ha-yoon confronted the bad guys bravely in My daughter Gum Sa-wol, so she had responses from fans like, “Cider goddess (refreshing goddess)”. She smiled and said it was because she played the role of a relentless woman. She was only weak when she talked to her husband, but her character was always arguing/fighting with others.